Get the news that matters to all Californians. Start every week informed.Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to postpone a minimum wage increase for California health care workers that is scheduled to take effect in June. Some employers have already begun raising pay. Here, striking workers march outside of the University of California San Francisco Parnassus campus on May 7, 2018. Photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP PhotoA higher minimum wage for health care workers that Gov.
“This budget will not be signed without that deal that we committed to being addressed,” Newsom said. He usually signs a budget for the next fiscal year in late June. Selzer said he is not directly involved in conversations with the governor’s office and legislators, but that confusion among many workers rings true. “We’ve heard June 1, we’ve heard July 1. It remains to be seen what actually happens here,” he said.What exactly is holding up the negotiations is unclear. Lawmakers and Newsom would have to pass and sign legislation that would push back the start date within two weeks to delay it effectively.
The UC Berkeley Labor Center estimates the cost to the state to be much lower. Total health spending in California would increase by about $2.7 billion because of the law, but the state would be responsible only for a fraction of that, according to the Labor Center’s analysis. The California Kidney Care Alliance, a trade association representing dialysis providers and clinics, said members are following the wage requirements as laid out by the law. “In fact, many providers have already increased wages well ahead of the requirements of the bill,” Jaycob Bytel, a spokesperson for the alliance, said in a statement. , employees are scheduled to receive from $18 to $23 an hour starting next month. That’s compared to the current statewide minimum wage of $16.